New Orleans Saints Owning the NFC South Division This Season

By Alejandro Aviles

Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Entering their bye week the New Orleans Saints are 5-1 with their first loss of the season coming at the hands of the New England Patriots in Week 6. Despite the 30-27 loss the Saints showed some good signs that they could be a legitimate contender. As much as the Saints would love to be undefeated right now they are still in terrific shape at 5-1.

After finishing 7-9 last season, it looks like the Saints are coming back stronger this season and could win their division. New Orleans is on top of the NFC South division and have a 2.5 game lead over the 2-3 Carolina Panthers. At the rate the Saints are going they will run away with the NFC South crown and possibly get a top seed in the NFC for the playoffs. Furthermore, the Saints are 2-0 in their division and 4-0 in their conference, so despite the one loss they could not be in better shape at this point in the season.

The Saints have been able to dominate their division with their elite offense and their ever-improving defense. The Saints stunned the 1-4 Atlanta Falcons in Week 1 with a big defensive stop, and that first win was huge for the team’s confidence since it came against their bitter rivals. Then in the following week the Saints’ flexed their defensive muscles again as they were able to grind out a 16-14 victory against divisional foe the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The next divisional game for the Saints won’t come until Week 14 when they host the Panthers. There will be many games in between so it is great that the Saints are so strong in their division in the first half of the season. If the team can continue their great play they should finish atop the NFC South and will be marching right on in to the playoffs.